A Little Longer
by charlibubble
Summary: Grissom is back at the lab, albeit temporarily. how will he cope with the stress and workload after his long break? especially when Sara is missing...GSR! tissues warning!
1. Chapter 1

He was watching her as she fluttered around the room preparing for work. It wasn't often he could do this and he savoured every moment as if it was the last. She carefully combed her hair in front of the mirror , catching his eyes in the reflection she pursed her lips to stifle a smile. 'are you going to stay in bed all day?' she asked playfully turning to face him. Sitting up Grissom watched her carefully gauging his response. Sara rolled her eyes and left the room. She knew her husband well and she had no time to wait around for one of his philosophical quotes today, She was due in court.

She hated going to court. It always involved a lot of waiting and while no one could say she lacked patience, she had other things she could be getting on with today. All too often she had spent an entire day pacing these halls only for the case to be adjourned. An entire day wasted , a day she could have spent with her husband. Today wasn't one of those days and Sara's case was one of the first to be called. Nervously she watched over the jury trying to get a feel for their opinion before she took to the stand. Juries could be funny things and as a group they often took on their own personality completely separate from the individuals within it. This one was hard to gauge. There was a strange mix of age , race and personality in the stalls and Sara couldn't get a feel for them at all. The evidence will speak for itself she told herself taking her turn in the stand and carefully presenting the teams findings. The suspect eyed her menacingly from his position below her , she avoided his gaze as she recalled the events of that case. It had been a particularly distressing abuse case , the suspect had taken a lot of time and care to torture and slowly kill his victim and the fear had shown all over the bloody corpse's face. She was sure that he had done it , his DNA had been found at the scene and his handprint was wedged so hard onto the victims back that they were actually able to lift prints from it.

Stepping out onto the street she squinted in the daylight cursing herself. The case had been airtight and this guy was getting released due to a stupid paperwork area. Catherine would be livid she thought as she began to walk to her car. Picking up her cell phone she began to dial her boss when she groaned in agitation spotting a bright yellow wheel clamp on her front wheel. This was not going to be a good day she thought to herself…..

The lab brought a sense of comfort to Grissom. It was familiar and comfortable to him like being back home after a long trip away. He wandered around gathering looks of surprise and support from his old collegues and made his way to Ecklie's office. Attention from Ecklie was rarely a good thing in his life, normally he made it a rule to avoid him as much as he possibly could but this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up on. Ecklie was on the phone when he arrived , heckling some poor officer who had screwed up. Nothing unusual about that thought Grissom smiling slightly. He took his place on a chair directly across from the man's desk looking around curiously. The Office was very bare considering he had held it for the past 6 years, Grissom had the urge to surround himself with reminders of who he was all around him, in fact his office had been a source of amusement and curiosity for many when he had worked here and that was the way he liked it. It struck him that Conrad Ecklie's life must be about as bare as his walls. 'Grissom' said Ecklie smiling and holding out his hand 'glad you could make it , how have you been?' Grissom knew he wasn't really interested in making small talk but humoured the man anyway 'I've been good' he said catiously. Ecklie sat down at his desk adjusting his tie carefully 'as I said on the phone, this would be a temporary assist position and any evaluations or discipline needed for Sara would be completed by Nick' Grissom nodded slowly , he already knew all the details. he had poured over the contract carefully analysing every word before making his decision, as had Sara.


	2. Chapter 2

Catherine was stunned to see Grissom strolling around the lab. She liked to think she was generally quite clued in on what went on in the lab and was a little insulted Sara had not told her he would be in town, however she was happy to see her old friend back on familiar territory and approached him emphatically. 'now there's a sight for sore eyes' she remarked playfully while he surveyed her office. He picked up a little trinket from a shelf and studied it carefully before replacing it. 'I prefer my bugs' he said smiling. Catherine sat down and watched him move around the room 'and to what do we owe this pleasure?' she finally broke through his thoughts. She had forgotten how frustrating his non-communication could be when you were out of practice.

Grissom sat down on the chair opposite her breathing deeply and choosing his words carefully. 'Catherine…..' he began, he didn't get further in his speech before she interrupted him 'he's replacing me!' she said angrily 'he's replacing me?' Grissom tried to stop her but Catherine was out of her seat and marching to Ecklie's office before he even had a change to take a breath. 'you're replacing me , with Grissom , and didn't even think to let me know?' she was livid and Grissom knew never to bite back when Catherine was on a rampage , he stayed in his seat and waited for her to finish throttling Ecklie. Catherine knew she was on suspension but she figured it would have all blown over in a few days. She was bearing the brunt of this investigation from Internal Affairs point of view but they had crossed a line bringing in a replacement for her, especially a replacement like Grissom. She still felt like she was struggling to live up to his huge expectations and with Ray gone the team would be looking for a solid leader to keep them going. She was disappointed that it couldn't be her. She made her way back to her office slowly.

'its only until the investigation is over' Grissom began 'you'll be back to normal in no time, you deserve some time off' she sat down heavily in her chair looking dejected. 'Ive worked so hard to get here, Gil. I missed out on so much of my daughters life of my own life and now I've thrown it away to protect someone I work with? What was I thinking?' Grissom thought for a moment looking at her carefully 'your Loyal Catherine' he said 'That is an excellent quality to have in a collegue, a boss, a friend. Never apologise for that' she smiled at him and patted his shoulder as she left. That wouldn't help her with IA though.

Grissom did not like this new streamlined office, he liked his clutter and experiments. There was too much light coming in from the windows and everyone in the lab could see inside. He missed his cocoon where he could come and regenerate while he thought out a theory or researched a hunch. This room, he thought, has witnessed so much. If the walls could talk they could spill the beans on a lot of goings on that nobody else knew about. Well nobody else but one person he thought smiling softly to himself. He was so deep in thought he didn't notice that very person standing at the door, leaning familiarly on the door frame and watching him reminisce. 'catching up with an old friend?' she asked smiling at him. He looked over at his wife standing there as she always used to, always observing him, always instinctively knowing what he was thinking, always one step ahead and he smiled a nostalgic smile 'yea , she's had a makeover'


	3. Chapter 3

The team were assembled in the break room chattering enthusiastically, their excitement was palpable as Grissom entered the room ready to address them. There was a sadness that Catherine would be leaving for a while but if they were honest they all missed their old mentor dearly and were glad to see him stand in front of them again. 'I guess this means I have to stop hitting on Sara' Greg asked him playfully 'someone had to keep her company while you were gone' Grissom worked his jaw a little formulating his response as Sara entered the room and took a seat 'Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great' she stifled a smile and looked at her coffee cup as he handed out their assignments.

The whole team were assembled at the site of a 4 car pile up on the highway. It was all hands on deck to get the site cleared and traffic flowing again. There were no witnesses to this crash. Two fatalities and 3 in serious condition. Sara was sent to the hospital to follow up on them while the rest of the team worked on the highway. Later the team were assembled to discuss the case. It had been an accident after all but 3 people had lost their lives. Grissom came into the room shortly followed by Ecklie. They both had sombre expressions on their faces and Grissom looked around as he took a chair beside his team. 'IA have requested statements from all of you about the Nate Haskell case, Catherine will remain on suspension until further notice' they glanced at each other nervously 'Grissom will be her replacement while she is on leave and you are all forbidden to speak with her about the case or investigation until it is over' Sara took a breath about to argue her case when Ecklie quickly left the room. It was not up for discussion.

Later that day Sara and Grissom were out for dinner, Sara was ranting about how unreasonable Ecklie was being when he noticed her husband watching her intently. 'what is it?' she asked him suddenly self conscious 'you get so frustrated at injustice' he smiled 'its endearing' she carefully put her hair behind her ear as she looked into his shining blue eyes. How she loved looking into those eyes, she thought to herself smiling. As they silently ate their desert Sara noticed Grissom shuffle uncomfortably in his seat, he loosened his tie slightly and inhaled deeply 'are you alright?' she asked concerned. 'just a little indigestion, lets go home' he stood up from the table and held out his hand to her, smiling she let him help her up and they walked out together arm in arm.


	4. Chapter 4

Grissom finally sat down after a long day. He had been working hard lately covering for Catherine and he had forgotten just how physically and mentally draining it was. It had only been two weeks and he was already seeing less of his wife than he had when he was in Peru he thought. He took off his glasses and massaged his temple. It had been a while since he had felt a migrane coming on but it was all too familiar to him. Sighing heavily he began completing his paperwork. He couldn't go home until it was done and he hadn't been home on time for weeks. It was just as well his wife was as much of a workaholic as he was he thought smiling as he saw her striding through the halls deep in conversation with Greg. he missed her , he realised. They had always made time for each other when they were forced apart but now they saw each other every day they were taking each other for granted somewhat. He made a promise to himself to make an effort after shift. When he had finished his pile of paperwork, Grissom made his way out of his office to find Sara. He could find just about every other member of the team and they all said she had left for the day. He found it strange that she hadn't come to speak to him first. He enjoyed their little end of shift moments.

Sara nervously fingered the edges of a magazine as she waited. She hated waiting, she hated places like this even more. The sterile smell in the air, the fake smiles on everyone's face's, the trashy magazines. She felt a little guilty coming without Gil, she hadn't even told him she was coming she didn't know how he would react so she wanted to know what she was dealing with first. 'Ms Sidle?' a young looking male called out into the waiting room looking around expectantly. Sara replaced her magazine and stood up smiling nervously at him as she followed him through to his office.

Sara wasn't answering her phone and she wasn't at home. Grissom began to feel hot and dizzy. His head hurt and he felt a pain in his chest. He sat down carefully and closed his eyes breathing slowly and carefully. He was jumping to conclusions, he rationalised, Sara was probably just out picking up some breakfast he didn't have to know where she was at every stage of the day they had based their whole relationship on that kind of trust and respect. The terrible feeling had passed and Grissom went over to the fridge to get a bottle of water when his phone rang loudly destroying his peace.


	5. Chapter 5

Sara thought she better phone Grissom to let him know where she was. She blinked in the sunlight smiling at her vampire-like tendencies as she strode across a well maintained stretch of lawn. It was a glorious day but she knew they would be spending it in bed. She was tired and she knew that Grissom was tired. He wasn't used to working so hard anymore and the strain was beginning to show. The sooner Catherine was cleared the better, she thought. Although she was enjoying having her husband around she had his best interests at heart although she knew he would never admit he was struggling. 'Hi' she said smiling into her cell phone 'I'll be home soon, just picking up some breakfast' hanging up she got into her car and pulled out of the parking lot. Driving along the road absentmindedly singing to the radio she didn't see the car pick up speed behind her, she didn't see the car pull up beside her but as it crashed into her forcing her car into a wall she knew exactly who was driving it.

Sara woke up groggily and tried to figure out where she was. Remembering the crash she sat up quickly grasping at her head as she did so. There was blood seeping from a wound just on her hairline. She looked around the room carefully, trying to find something of use to her. The room was basically bare, a bed and a chair sat in the centre and it was lit by a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. There were a few flies buzzing around the light bumping off it every now and then. It was clear it was an old filthy motel room. There was dust caking everything in sight and the single window to her left was boarded up letting only a sliver of light into the room. She lay back on the bed heavily, her leg was hurt and it was aching. Carson Broadfoot she thought to herself, he was the man she had stood against in court no more than 3 weeks ago. A stupid paperwork error or he would have been behind bars for many years to come and now he had run her off the road and taken her to this place. She frowned trying to make sense of it, this wasn't his style. He was more of an aggressor. He liked to beat and rape and make people suffer he didn't have the patience it took to kidnap someone and bide his time. She quickly checked over herself for signs of abuse. She was fully clothed and didn't seem to have any injuries that couldn't be explained by the crash, she didn't even appear to have been drugged so he must be nearby she thought. Her heart raced as she tried to think up a way to get out of this as she heard him speak outside. He was angrily shouting down the phone to someone. Sara couldn't make out anything of any use and she froze to the bed as he walked into the room. Noticing she was awake he approached the bed smiling. It wasn't a kindly smile it was tinged with evil he grabbed her hard by the face and pushed her into the bed as he injected something into her leg. She slipped off into blackness.

Grissom was really beginning to get worried now. She had called him over an hour ago to tell him she was getting breakfast, why did she keep disappearing today? He had tried calling her cell over and over to no avail and he began pacing the floor glancing at his phone willing her to call him. When his phone finally rang he practically launched himself at it. 'Sara?' he said hopefully into the phone. It was Ecklie; he sighed and sat down on the sofa. He really didn't need this right now. 'we've found Sara's car Gil, it's been in an accident but there's no sign of her' Grissom felt like his heart had stopped as he stood up and grabbed his coat 'there's something else' continued Ecklie…..


	6. Chapter 6

Sara was struggling to stay awake. She knew that if she stood any chance she would need to be able to keep her wits about her. She was sure the team would find her, all she had to do was stay alive as long as it took them to piece the clues together. She found it strange that Carson hadn't done her any harm, why go to all this bother? Her brain was groggy, it wasn't lightning fast like it normally was and she found herself struggling to stay conscious again. Her limbs felt like they were weighed down, she desperately tried to sit but she was a dead weight. She wondered if anyone would have even noticed her missing yet, sure Grissom was expecting her for breakfast but she had been pulling disappearing acts quite a lot lately. She wished she had included him now, guilt welled up inside her as she thought about her strong, loving husband. About how worried he would be for her and about how he would feel when he found out what she'd been hiding. She didn't want him to find out in these circumstances.

Grissom arrived on the scene as fast as he could. Ecklie was there to meet him, his face as stony as ever as the dayshift team poured over Sara's car. Grissom surveyed the scene quickly as he walked, picturing the collision, hearing the clash of metal and stone, visualising the other cars escape route. He knew his first blush wasn't always gospel but more often than not he could get a very good idea of the logistics of a crime within the first few seconds of arriving. His mind was racing as he quickly ran through all the possibilities and all the suspects who may have had it in for Sara. The car had sped off in a hurry away from the scene and left good deep tyre impressions for them to get cast's of and he was sure there was paint transfer on the door. CCTV may not have captured the actual accident but they were close to a crossroads so that would have been monitored. He looked around carefully hoping to find something useful. Ecklie turned as Grissom caught up with him so that both men were facing the car. One side of it was completely crushed against the wall however, the drivers side was practically untouched. It was designed to stop her, not hurt her Grissom concluded. Ecklie handed him something quietly 'we found it on the passenger seat under her purse'

Grissom looked down at what he held in his hands. Inside an evidence bag was something which gripped his very soul. It may have been small but this answered a lot of Grissom's questions, this is where she was today, he thought to himself. He stared at it speechless for a moment analysing every square inch searching for an answer. Along the top was his wife's name and placed perfectly in the middle looking right out at him was a sonogram image. A baby. His baby. Sara was pregnant.


	7. Chapter 7

The team all arrived at the scene as soon as they heard. Even Catherine was there hoping to help somehow. They poured over every inch of the car without coming up with anything other than Sara's prints all over it. The driver of the other car had come flying right through a corner to crash into Sara's car. There was CCTV of the junction they could pour over which would at least get them a car to follow, it didn't quite capture the collision but there was clearly a blue ford which raced over the sidewalk and headed straight at her. Catherine took Grissom to one side back at the lab. She had a hunch she knew who may have done this and her stomach was turning at the thought of it. As she told him about the recent trial she noticed how Grissom turned very pale, he was sweating. His hands began to tremble slightly and he pulled at his collar. 'are you ok?' she asked him concerned. He merely left the room shaking his head to tell the team about their suspect.

Now the team had an angle to push it was all hands on deck to find the guy. They ran everything they had on him, finding his usual haunts, his last known address, his associates, his car, his cell phone. they came up with nothing, until Nick recognised one of the associates on the list. His face changed to a look of horror as he recalled what they had him up for previously and he told the team grimly of his suspicions. Carson's friend had been brought up on charges of producing snuff films. They had found his computer loaded with terrible video's of gang rape, child molestation and live murders. He had gotten away with it claiming he only watched them as he had schizophrenia. He said he didn't remember participating. They never found the ringleader. On a hunch Nick ran an old cell number they had on file that was associated with the films. It had been used only an hour ago to make a call….

Grissom quickly left the room. His breathing was heavy and deep, he felt like the room was spinning and his stomach was churning. Reaching his office he flopped back clumsily onto the sofa closing his eyes. Pull yourself together he thought to himself he rubbed his hand over his head and tried to focus on a point on the ceiling. His heart was racing more than a little too fast and he was struggling to control his breathing. He brought the sonogram image out of his pocket looking at it lovingly, willing himself to calm down. He studied the tiny form in the image, it was full of potential, full of life, it had Sara's little nose he noticed smiling slightly. suddenly his whole body was gripped with a searing pain. He clutched at his chest trying to call out but nothing came out as he fell to the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

The team heard an almighty clatter as they watched the trace of the cell phone. Catherine had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach as she bolted out of the door toward's her office closely followed by everyone else. She found him laying lifeless on the floor beside the sofa a small slip of paper lying beside him. 'get an ambulance, NOW!' She crouched down beside her old friend tears welling in her eyes 'Grissom! Grissom can you hear me?' turning him over she held his head on her lap and carefully checked for a pulse. She glanced at Nick quickly with fear in her eyes, shaking her head slowly. Nick lifted the piece of paper and looked at Catherine 'Sara's pregnant' he said his voice full of sadness as Greg sat in a chair and held his head in his hands. Catherine looked down at Grissom, he looked so vulnerable, so helpless. She was so used to leaning on him, sure he was socially inept but he was a strong proud man and it frightened her to see him like this.

The paramedics came rushing in closely followed by Brass. He looked down at Grissom and frowned, panic etched all over his face 'what happened?' Catherine shook her head and watched as the paramedics ushered them out of the room. They all stood in the hallway gazing into the office in silence, none of them knew what to say and none of them wanted to speak. They were watching as Grissom's life hung in the balance. Grissom , their Grissom. Their strong, capable mentor, their friend, their inspiration on so many levels. He meant so much to all of them. The paramedics had ripped open his shirt and were working on him furiously. Catherine turned and rushed off down the hall tears running down her face. Nick nervously fingered the edges of the sonogram picture, his eyes filled with tears as he thought of the tiny life growing inside Sara's womb. A life that even if they manage to save may be facing losing its father before it even took its first breath. 'what do we do now' asked Greg nervously breaking the silence. Nick looked at him standing there, he looked scared and vulnerable. Nick stood up straight and took a deep breath 'we find Sara'


	9. Chapter 9

Sara could hear commotion all around her , she was getting moved around and someone was pulling at her shirt. She wasn't fully conscious of what was going on. She could see only shadows and her limbs felt like dead weights. There were at least 8 men in the room all of them looking at her hungrily. Her abductor was taking money from them and another man was setting up a camera in the corner of the room. She tried to plead with them but she couldn't seem to form words as she groggily shook her head. One man took her hands and tied them to the headboard tightly. Her wrists were bleeding from rope burns. She slowly began to focus on the room, she was still unable to move or call out. her shirt was ripped open and someone was pulling off her underwear she knew what they were planning on doing. Tears fell down her face as the men closed in around her with their pants down, she closed her eyes and willed herself to call out , to kick them , to struggle , anything but she couldn't move a single muscle she was glued to the spot as the first man bore down on her. He breathed on her neck , looked right into her eyes enjoying the fear and her trembling beneath him. He smelled dirty and his top was soaked with sweat, his eyes were practically bulging out of the sockets. It was Carson, the one who had abducted her. He wanted to make her suffer. He licked the tears off her face and grabbed her breasts hard as she closed her eyes to block it out. he stroked bits of hair off her face as he looked at her hungrily. 'Not so sure of yourself now are you CSI?' he grabbed her head with both hands and turned her to face the camera 'smile for your audience CSI, lots of people paid good money to see you here' He pulled down his shorts and put his hand into her roughly. She stifled a scream as pain engulfed her body, she knew this wouldn't be over with quickly. She thought of the life growing inside her 'I'm going to enjoy this one' he whispered into her ear as he adjusted his body over her. Just as he was about to rape her the door burst open and all hell broke loose. The men all began grappling for their weapons and the police flooded the room. Sara kept her eyes firmly closed, maybe she was unconscious again and was imagining her rescue.

Nick's voice penetrated though the chaos, he put his jacket over her and held her face in his hands 'you're ok' he said , obvious relief in his voice 'we got you, your safe now' Sara began to sob and Greg cut the ties off her hands, Nick lifted her gently towards him and held her in his arms until the ambulance arrived. He knew he should be preserving the scene but Sara's welfare was all that was on his mind right now. Still very groggy Sara was clinging onto Nick sobbing softly 'where's Grissom?' she whispered to him weakly. Nick nervously shot a look over to Greg who was beginning to process the room 'he'll be ok' Nick told her only half convinced. Catherine still hadn't called from the hospital. She was too sleepy to argue for more information, she rested her head on Nick's shoulder and slept.


	10. Chapter 10

_Sara's nose filled with that horrible sterile smell again as she began to come round. She crinkled her nose up disapprovingly and slowly opened her eyes. Looking around carefully she surmised she was in hospital, Nick was there holding her hand. He looked tired and his eyes were red and bloodshot. Like he'd been crying Sara thought absentmindedly. She tried to remember how she got there but her mind was blank. The last thing she remembered was calling Grissom after her mind was so fuzzy like she was in a dream. Grissom, she thought, where was Grissom. Shouldn't he be the one holding her hand, keeping a bedside vigil. I bet he's at work she thought, half annoyed but also smiling slightly thinking about her workaholic husband and his dedication to the lab. _

'_where's Grissom?' she asked Nick quietly while trying to sit up and failing. 'hey you take it easy lady, you've been through the mill a bit' he smiled at her gently moving a strand of hair out of her face 'you were abducted Sara, but we got to you in time and most of the guys were caught too, Grissom uh…' his eyes filled up with tears and he clenched his jaw tight trying to compose himself for her 'Grissom took a heart attack at the lab, he, uh, he didn't make it Sara, I'm sorry' Sara looked at him bewildered, it didn't sink in. it couldn't sink in she wouldn't believe it. Not Grissom. Not her Grissom. They were starting a family. She hadn't even had a chance to tell him about their baby. Sara sat up looking around the room, he would be walking in any moment to hold her, to whisper in her ear, to stroke her arm so gently she could barely feel it. Her Grissom couldn't be dead he had so much he still had to do, so much they had to do together. _

_Her shoulders slumped and tears began to fall heavily down her face as she shook her head. She was pulling at the wires attached to her arm, swinging her legs over the side of the bed she stood up and ran out into the corridor. Nick quickly ran out behind her and grabbed her as she fell to the ground 'no, nick. Not my Grissom. Not Grissom, please' Nick kneeled down with her holding onto her tightly. He felt tears fall from his own eyes as he stroked her hair and rocked her gently 'I know, Im so sorry, I'm sorry' _

_Greg and Catherine had been sitting along the corridor waiting for Nick to bring them news when Sara burst out of her room. The desperation and grief were etched all over her face as she collapsed in front of the nurses station. They had never seen Sara break down so dramatically before and they both froze as they watched Nick hold her. He was grieving almost as much as she was. He gently helped her to stand and they walked slowly along the corridor a few steps to where Grissom's room was. Catherine held her breath as she watched Sara look at her husband's lifeless body there in that sterile, unwelcoming hospital room. Catherine thought she had never seen such despair in anyone's eyes as she did in her friends that day. Grissom was all Sara had in the world and they all knew just how deep their love went._

_Sara had been sitting with Grissom for a long time. She wasn't sure how long but she knew she didn't want to leave him. She held onto his hand with both of hers. Gently stoking his wrist with her thumb. She watched his face intently, willing him to wake up, to open those beautiful blue eyes and smile at her like he used to. Those eyes would look right into her soul, she and Grissom had never needed words to communicate. One look was worth a thousand words to her and she longed for him to give her even just one more of those looks. If he could just hold on a little longer she thought, if she could just tell him once more how much she loved him. How much she always had. Her body ached all over but all she could feel was the thumping of her heart….._


	11. Chapter 11

Sara woke with a start and sat bolt upright. Her heart was thumping in her chest as she took in her surroundings once more, she was definatley in a hospital. Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered the events of the past few days. Nick wasn't beside her anymore and the room looked different, clearer somehow. She slowly got out of her bed. She had remembered her legs being stronger and she faltered slightly before gaining her balance and taking a few steps to the door. Clutching onto the door frame she looked around the corridor, seeing no-one she frowned. Her memory was very fuzzy and she wasn't very sure what was going on. But even from her tumultuous sleep she knew, just knew, that something terrible had happened to her beloved Grissom. Every fibre of her being was telling her to go along the corridor, to where his body had lain just to make sure, just to hold his hand for a while. She began to shuffle her way towards the next room hanging off the wall for support. She felt as though the corridor stretched out in front of her for miles, she had to be sure. Her eyes fell on Nick standing at the door, he had a panicked expression on his face as doctors and nurses moved a bed into the centre of the room and hooked machines up. She was so confused, her head told her that he was gone but her heart was aching, not from loss but from a need to be with him, a need to see him, a need to hold him tightly and never let him go again. She needed him more than she had realised. A nurse came up behind her and turned her away from the room carefully, her eyes stung with tears as she tried to fight her off.

"I want to see my Husband!" she was shouting now, desperation setting in.

her conscious and unconscious had collided and she didn't know which one she was living. Placing her back in the bed the nurse saw the desperation in her eyes

"you'll be with him soon enough" she said as she injected her arm.

Sara looked down at the needle with bewilderment

"whats going on?"

but she didn't get her answer she slipped away into a dreamless sleep.

The light was too strong and that horrible smell filled the air. People where fussing nearby and machines were beeping. Someone was holding his hand as he groggily tried to focus on the room. Slowly the whole sorry story filtered through to his brain and his eyes rested on his hand. He couldn't quite focus completely the sides where blurred but nothing could stop him recognising the hands that clasped his as he lay there. Her thumb was absentmindedly massaging his wrist, in her other hand was a canula. They found her he thought as he fell back to sleep, he knew they would. Sara had argued her way into Grissom's room on the promise that she would remain in her wheelchair and not get too upset. The nurses watched her too, to make sure she stuck to her side of the bargain. She sat at his side watching him sleep. He looked so fragile laying there, his chest covered in sensors, tubes coming out of his arms and an oxygen mask covering most of his face. She was relatively unhurt, the team had done them both proud finding her in the nick of time. She watched his chest slowly rise and fall as she massaged his wrist gently. He'd had to have emergency surgery. his chest had a nasty looking scar over it, she almost lost him she thought a tear escaping down her face. When his eyes had opened she thought that her heart may stop too. The nurses and doctors all rushed in and started shining lights into his eyes and speaking to him loudly as she was wheeled out. she protested angrily but the nurse completely ignored her and kept pushing talking to her in a gentle yet annoying voice.

Grissom was just falling into a nice gentle sleep when there was commotion all around him. People crowded his bed and started shouting to him and flashing lights into his eyes. He was completely bewildered as he looked around, now fully conscious, he tried to see Sara but she was nowhere to be seen. Had he been dreaming, he thought suddenly panicking.

'Sara?' he said as he kept looking around.

The monitor beside him started to beep faster as he desperately tried to get someone to acknowledge him, he sat up and began pulling at wires. Finally a young doctor leaned over and spoke to him in a calm voice

'you have to calm down Mr Grissom, you have just came out of heart surgery. Your wife is Next door and she is fine'

Sara wasn't about to just let them wheel her away from her husband like that. He had always been there for her, she didn't intend to go letting him down now. In fact she was outraged that the nurse had carelessly wheeled her into her room like that and just left her there. She had promised to stay in her chair when she was in Grissom's room but she made no such promise about her own room she thought slowly standing up. She was a little woozy and unsteady on her feet but after a few minutes she found her balance and began to slowly make her way along the corridor, keeping close to the wall and avoiding eye contact with any staff she passed. When she reached Grissom's room she leaned clumsily on the door frame , breathing heavily as she took in the view. He was sitting up in his bed speaking to a doctor when his eyes locked with hers. He stopped talking immediately as he smiled at her, it reminded him of when she would come and see him in his office. They didn't need word to communicate a single look would cover a whole conversation. She scrunched her face up smiling as the doctor approached her to give her a scolding for being on her feet

'I just know you two are going to be nothing but trouble' she said to them as she ushered Sara into a chair again and wheeled her over to the side of Grissom's bed.

Sara was lying on her bed in a gown. She nervously fingered the edge of her blanket, looking at the ceiling she started counting the squares. Grissom smiled at her and took her hand. He was seated beside her in a wheelchair. She grimaced as she felt a cold jelly on her abdomen and the nurse started moving a paddle roughly over her clicking every now and again on a computer by her side. She turned the screen so that Sara and Grissom could both see what she could.

'there you go love' she said chirpily '16 weeks and all's well'

they both stared at the screen watching entranced as this tiny life form wiggled and danced around for them. This was an all new adventure for them both. Grissom looked over to the corridor and smiled at the team. Everything was going to be ok.


End file.
